An Apology

‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.’ (1 Peter 3:15) The Greek word used for answer is ‘Apologia’ (Apology/Defence) Early Christian literature is full of Apologies – explaining this new faith to the confused Romans.

I thought I’d write an ‘apology’ in the original sense as sometimes people ask me if I have a faith and occasionally why I believe the things I do. St Peter adds that it is important to do this with gentleness and respect. I’ll try to set out my case gently and with respect because I’m conscious that you’ve probably come across many shouty preachers who have not done that. Sorry! (an apology in the modern sense) I find them embarrassing too if that’s any consolation. I also tread gently because these are deep questions and there are no certain and agreed answers.

Reasonable Faith

Christianity ultimately is a faith position; and faith is to believe and trust in something despite not having cast iron proof. But it is not a stab in the dark; it is a bet made by assessing the evidence. It might seem a little weird in our scientific age but many of our big decisions in life are made in this way. Our decisions of who to marry, where to go to university, whether to buy a certain house, are generally a combination of head and heart. Often, we are both rationally working a problem out and ‘having a sense’ of the solution in varying degrees. So too, for me, my reason for belief are a combination of the intellectual case and a way of making sense of my life experience.

A Case for God

I have been a Religious Studies and Philosophy teacher for over 25 years. I could bore you to death with the arguments for and against God.  Sometimes they are called proofs of God; I think this oversells them. I’m not sure I or anyone can prove or disprove the existence of God, but I do think several of the arguments make for good evidence. They at least show that belief in God is not a ridiculous belief on a par with belief in a flat earth or fairies! 3 arguments for God are worth a quick look

The Design argument or Teleological argument states that God is the explanation for the order and purpose we find in the world. Things tend to chaos unless an intelligent minds order it. The order in the universe points to an intelligent designer, God. Despite Darwin’s best efforts, it seems that the argument still has interesting things to say; why does intelligent and ordered conscious life emerge/evolve? It seems remarkably lucky and the odds against it are extraordinary. Of course, there is plenty of awful stuff in nature too – so I recognise that the argument does have its flaws.

The First Cause or Cosmological argument is more interesting. Even if we think the universe is not that great, we still have the question of how it came to exist in the first place. It asks ‘why is there something rather than nothing?’ As the Oxford Philosopher Richard Swinburne famously said, nothing is a far easier state of affairs and yet there is something – so many things! If as science claims the universe came from a Big Bang, a singularity, 14 billion years ago, what caused this? What is its explanation? It seems that it would have to be something like ‘God’.

A slightly lesser known argument, the Trademark argument, considers the fact that the idea of a being such as God seems to be pretty universal. Various civilisations through time and without consultation with each other have had an idea of a being or beings greater than themselves and sensed that their purpose is in some way to worship or connect with this being. Where does the idea of God come from? Rene Descartes argued that the idea of God could only come from God himself and that it was almost like a maker’s stamp or Trademark implanted by our maker. Those of us who have connection in the Pottery industry might think about the stamp on the bottom of mugs and plates. There is something within us that gives us a clue that we have a maker.

There’s something about Jesus

There are lots of things about Christianity and Christians that can be difficult and frustrating but I continue to be inspired by Jesus. Jesus changed history despite not doing many of the things that typically made people influential in the ancient world. He didn’t rule any Kingdoms, fought no battles, wrote no books and had no children, yet few people come close to the influence he has had on human history

Jesus’ teaching is revolutionary; I continue to be challenged, inspired and disturbed by it in equal measure. The ethics of unconditional love and the care for the outsiders of his day such as the Samaritan, women, and Gentiles are messages that address us now in the present day. He demands that I love those that are difficult, forgive those who have harmed me, am generous with my possessions, and make the most of whatever gifts God has given me. And he is not that into religion! Some of his harshest words were for those who were self-righteous. That is a relief because sometimes ‘religion’ annoys me and I’m not convinced I am particularly righteous!  

All the above is not really controversial; many atheists can admire the aspects of Jesus that I have described. But we don’t get off that lightly; Jesus makes other claims. He claims that he is God’s Son and that he has a mission to save people. Christians believe that Jesus’ death is key to this mission and that he rose again after death. The Bible depicts Jesus as calling people to follow him in order to experience a similar resurrection life both now and after our death. Christians such as myself are people that have come to the conclusion that these claims are true and have decided to trust and follow Jesus. So, I continue to be drawn to follow Jesus

Making Sense and Being Fruitful

In addition to the more intellectual reasons for belief in God and Jesus, there is the sense that Christianity enables me to make sense of the world and to live a good fruitful life within it.

Part of this might be termed ‘religious experience’. There are and have been times when I have sensed God’s presence or felt that God is wanting me to do something. It sounds weird when it’s written down. It can be in the beauty of nature, the quietness of an early morning, during prayer, or in church. A couple of the times in life that have been most difficult have been times when it seems as if God has been particularly close. There have also been times when quite specific prayers have been answered – not as much as I would like and there is a mystery as to why some things aren’t answered – but as Archbishop Temple once said, ‘when I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don’t they don’t.’

Another aspect of human experience is our moral experience. I have found the teachings of Jesus and Christianity valuable, and they are a good guide in how to live: the importance of prioritising a good marriage, faithfulness, how I approach parenthood, ethical use of wealth, giving to charity, volunteering, how I approach work/business are all influenced by my faith. No, I don’t always get everything right but part of the importance of Christianity is that it enables me to live a good and fruitful life.

This links to the idea of purpose; I believe that life is not just random and pointless, it is significant and it has a purpose. My faith enables me to place my life within a bigger story and to ponder my place within it. Humans have value and dignity as beings created in the image of God and are God’s hands and feet in bringing about a better world.

So it is a combination of reasons and lived experience that are my reasons to continue to believe. So please accept my ‘apology’(ancient sense). If you are interested and want to ask me or others questions then great (most Christians don’t mind!)  I hope I haven’t annoyed or offended you; my apologies (modern sense) if I have!